Over the Blue
by keroberus
Summary: Alisha Diphda has the blues. She has new responsibilities now, but she struggles with her 'answer,' lamenting the loss of that young man she loved who must now be left behind. When people start mysteriously disappearing in Hyland and Rolance, she is tasked to investigate. She is no damsel in distress but she still needs saving. Post game, Alisha DLC. [AlishaxSorey] [AlishaxSergei]
1. Sleeping Hearts

Author's intro: This story was inspired by "Lions and Lilacs" by Dubslider, and I am happy to know I am not the only Alisha x Sergei shipper out there. I own no rights to Zestiria or its characters. Thank you for reading and taking the time to read and review. -Kero

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Chapter 1: Sleeping hearts 

_Brave words Alisha Diphda. Remember the promise you made before the ruins of Camlann? You have no time for tears or doubt now._ She stared wordlessly at her own reflection in the mirror, as if willing her confidence to surface.

It was time for her to undo all the damage her former mentor Maltan had wrought on the kingdom, even though Alisha had no idea how. Even dressed in the finest Hyland blue silks and velvet she somehow felt like a sham. Sure, the last meeting with her cousin, the King of Hyland, and his advisors was only slightly less than disastrous. How was she supposed to know it was a dinner party and she was the only one wearing armor? That had _clearly_ been omitted from the invitation.

Or perhaps the Universe was once again pointing out what a sad joke her life was.

Even when her royal cousin pulled her aside and tried to give her some pointers on how to relax and schmooze with the kingdom's movers and shakers, Alisha couldn't quite smile naturally. The point of that meeting was to discuss her post war reports to determine what needed to be done to ensure the well-being of the people. From crop rotation to digging wells, Alisha had traveled Hyland with her vanguard as the King's Knight, a position her cousin had created for her, to meet with mayors and village chiefs and develop ideas to rebuild the country. She wanted to discuss the prospect of free trade with the open border policy between Hyland and Rolance but most of the attendees of the soiree were more interested in the delectable sweets, dancing and card tables.

Her cousin, King Albert, had gently poked fun at her, even though he was several years her junior; being king gave him that right. In the end her smile for the evening probably looked more like a grimace, if the looks she received in return were any indication.

She would need all the confidence she could summon for today's meeting, the last gathering of the old Council employed by the now very deceased Chancellor Bartlow. There was no love lost between her and Bartlow, but some of his more conciliatory Council members had helped her transition from lowly, bottom ranked princess to useful politician and advisor.

This meeting was important because it intended to cede powers back to the king, who now no longer needed a regent like Bartlow, and as her cousin's staunch supporter, Alisha with his advisors would set the groundwork for the bureaucracy that would replace the Council.

It didn't matter that she barely slept the night before because she had been a little nervous. Alisha couldn't stop thinking of her reports and the plans she had in mind. At three in the morning, nothing had seemed more important to Alisha than rethinking the winter stores for the cold season.

Of course she regretted it now.

The cloudy skies did nothing to improve her mood. The threat of spring rain loomed without granting relief, leaving a moist, quiet heaviness in the air. She clutched the frills of her lacy blouse above her heart. There was a constant ache there, one she usually tried to ignore. Sometimes it felt like pricking from a thin needle imbedding itself into her chest. Other times, it weighed heavily, like a lead plate depriving her of air, where she had to will herself to breathe deeply. At first Alisha had attributed it to nerves and stress, yet she knew she didn't feel this way until after she had traveled back to Camlann with Rose. It began when she first saw the pure white light piercing the heavens from the crater deep in the earth. Alisha remembered the first moments of silence before she had made her pledge in front of his resting place; how she, for a moment, longed to be up and over the blue sky to touch and embrace his pure white light. Another prick at her heart made her wince. The others also felt his absence keenly and she could not burden them with her own moroseness.

Everyone had decided their own "answer" and made an unspoken pact before the ruins of Camlann to carry on with the same passion for life as they had in their quest against Heldalf. They would create a new world in the name of their dear friend, the former Shepherd.

In her solitude she simply missed her friend. He was her very first friend. From the moment she met him she knew he was special, that he was the one who could change the world. He was the one whom she believed in and who in turn unfailingly believed in her despite her faults. The one she had traveled with, who had come down from the mountain simply because she had asked; the one who looked into her eyes honestly, and always with a shy smile. The friend Alisha had admired so keenly was both gone from her life and yet still there spiritually, supporting her powers as his former Squire, while he slept in dreamless peace.

Even now, as she closed her eyes she could feel the power under her skin: fire, wind, water and earth gently caressing her, like Sorey's soft embrace. He was the friend she did not realize how clearly she loved him until she saw that light.

Alisha turned from the mirror and trained her eyes out toward the gray skies over Camlann, willing now instead the clouds to part so she could see his light piercing into the blue and somehow feel closer.


	2. Waking Dragons

Chapter 2: Waking Dragons 

"Something must be done about these disappearances," said Lord Garre, one of the members of the Empire's council of ministers. Beside him, Chief Priest Senna nodded in agreement.

After the war, Garre had taken up leadership in the council of ministers who governed the Rolance Empire on behalf of its figurehead King, Roystead. Senna had taken up Cardinal Forton's duties for the church until the next annual meeting where the priests would elect a new Cardinal. Around them, the other ministers wore facial expressions that ranged from brooding to worried as they discussed the topic of the day in Pendrago.

Sergei Strelker, Chief Knight General of Rolance, sat silently at the round table, lamenting the fact that they still had to deal with killers and brigands infused with malevolence when they should really be focusing on replenishing crops and supplies spent and destroyed in the war to brace against the harsh wet season the weather tellers foresaw. This other problem had to be dealt with quickly.

"I will take a squadron of knights with me to the countryside to investigate," Sergei volunteered.

"Excellent," said Lord Garre. "But you will not be able to just go gallivanting at will. The missing villagers are scattered on both sides of the Hyland - Rolance border. Bringing an armed squadron across our neighbor's borders might not be viewed in a favorable light, especially since we just ended our decade long war."

"It should be discussed with Hyland's ambassador, who travels here today from Ladylake," said Priest Senna.

"I didn't know Hyland had an ambassador," commented Sergei. "It is a fairly new position created by Hyland's king. Since she has had experience dealing with Rolance during and after the war, King Albert has appointed his cousin, Princess Alisha, as ambassador to Rolance," said Priest Senna.

"That makes everything so much easier. I'd rather you settle this with Alisha then, Sergei, since you both know what you're about and will be traveling with armed soldiers," said Lore Garre.

"But if it is not just a human terror but a malevolent Hellion, my lord, perhaps it is better that Princess Alisha is assisting us," suggested Priest Senna. "She is said to have been be a Squire of the former Shepherd Sorey, and is now Squire to the current Shepherd. There are some things better handled by the Shepherd's kind."

"Tilting at windmills, eh?" smiled Lord Garre without mirth. There were many things normal folk did not understand about the Shepherd, mostly in part because they could not see them, but if legend and rumor had basis in truth, then they must conclude that the former Shepherd saved the world by ending the Lord of Chaos, his invisible minions and quelled the hellions made perverse by that power, human and beast alike. From rampaging elephants in the desert to dragons on the mountain side, the stories of the Sheperd's works were now spread far and wide, like dandelion pods carried on the wind.

"Here comes our lovely ambassador now," smiled Priest Senna and all heads tilted towards the double doors of solid redwood. Alisha came into the room with her guardsmen with a quiet elegance befitting her station. Sergei noticed she still donned her knight's armor while traveling, a habit that he, as a knight, was well acquainted with. She was ever the contradiction between feminine softness and hard-edged metal. Her Hyland crested blue, layered tunic covered dark leggings and knee high steel footwear but a long, velvet cloak the color of the midnight sky partially obscured the ensemble. She had neatly pulled her hair away from her face, tied artlessly to one side while her curls fell farther now over her shoulder, framing her guarded expression.

Sergei could not help the smile that came whenever he saw her, and even now, he could feel it on his face. Even before realized it, he had already walked over to her and bowed over her hand in one swift motion.

"Well met, Princess Alisha," he said.

"Hello again, Sir Knight," she greeted. Now that he was closer he could see her features genuinely relax. They had after all spent much time in one another's company when the war was still raging.

"It has been nearly half a year since I have seen you, and I hear you have been promoted to General. It is a position befitting your achievements," Alisha said. Her words were always honest, as Sergei knew from experience, and her earnest nature made no room for mere flattery or deception of any kind. In direct contrast with his former adversary Cardinal Forton, who had been both dangerously feminine and deceptive, Sergei had never met a woman as refreshing as Princess Alisha.

 _'He's grinning like an idiot,'_ said a distinctly monotone voice in her head, dripping with sarcasm. _'Hush now,'_ the princess silently admonished.

Finally remembering to release her hand before he appeared inappropriate, Sergei gave an acknowledging nod and stepped aside for the Chief Priest and Lead Minister to greet her in turn. They reconvened the meeting with their new guest. Alisha had brought reports of missing villagers in Hyland. As the parties discussed into the late morning what was to be done about the disappearing villagers on both sides of the border a messenger entered the chamber with an urgent report.

"My lords, and lady," bowed the messenger. "I come from the mayor's office of Lastonbell. Bodies have been found in the area surrounding the city along the trade route. By examination we have reason to believe the bodies were recently and unnaturally mummified. The Mayor fears this is a threat to the free trade established between the nations and begs immediate assistance from the capital."

"It is as I feared," sighed Alisha. "Reports from outside Ladylake also found similar corpses along our trade route a month ago. It appears whomever is doing this is purposefully leaving a trail behind for us to follow. These do not appear to be isolated events."

"We were hoping to have Hyland's cooperation in this investigation, Ambassador Diphda," ventured the Lead Minister.

"Of course, it also does not hurt to have the Shepherd's blessing in this," suggested the Chief Priest. Alisha smiled and nodded. It was of course why her cousin had appointed her as ambassador. The freedom to travel between the lands coupled with her ability to quell malevolence was part of her new calling, one she now bravely faced.

She would not wither under pressure as her former mentor had predicted she would.

Sergei stepped forward and stood at attention, with one hand over his breast plate. "I will escort you, My Lady," he pledged. As if the dragon knight emblem on his tunic were coming alive, Sergei could feel a fierce heat in his chest. He would protect this lady at all costs, because his heart would not allow anything less.


	3. Slaying Shadows

Chapter 3: Slaying Shadows

Alisha watched carefully as the medical examiner explained why the corpse laying on the table had only recently turned into a mummified husk. She stoically feigned rapt attention as the process of natural mummification was explained in gross detail, all the while concentrating on keeping her lunch in her stomach, where it rightfully belonged.

She had, after all, been to the battlefield and witnessed its horrors first hand. It had proven impossible to forget the smell of scorched flesh and the muffled whimpers of the dying. Still, this afternoon's examination of preserved flesh was a new level of disgusting for her.

Alisha wondered if she was imagining that the faces of her men and the Rolance officers in the room had turned slightly green. Only the General seemed unfazed. _'Try not to hurl on General Strelker's armored feet,'_ the sarcastic voice in her head whispered. _'Sabaton crevices are difficult to clean.'_

' _Edna, you are simply incorrigible,'_ accused Alisha in her head, forcing the lump back down her throat with a swallow.

 _'As if you didn't know me by now,'_ her companion mocked. ' _Try not to think of disgusting things like bloodworms and rotting garbage or runny cheese….'_

 _'I'm not listening!'_

She had been traveling as the Ambassador of Hyland for a few months now, accompanied by a seraph no one could hear or see. Sorey once explained to her that in the old days Shepherds had roamed the world in droves, each able to communicate, travel and make pacts with seraphim.

They were almost like their own guild, a gathering of powerful individuals who could see the seraphim who lived side by side with humans. The supplemental histories Alisha read in the castle were unclear as to what happened to them after the earlier Ages. Scholars speculated that because Shepherds had no affiliation with nations, the human governments of Rolance and Hyland grew to distrust them. They may have been ostracized into enclaves that faded with time, or worse, hunted.

Now with the One Shepherd sleeping, Sorey dispersed his power through that white light into the atmosphere, paving the way for new Shepherds to again rise up to the Calling and quell malevolence where they found it; to purify the land for the future awakening of the guardian seraph of the continent, Maotelus. The current Shepherd, Rose, was on a journey to recruit new Squires and Shepherds to the Calling even now.

As her Squire, Alisha borrowed on Rose's power as well as the power left behind by Sorey. When they last met in Hyland, before her departure as the newly appointed ambassador to Rolance, Rose had wanted one of them to travel with the princess to protect her Squire from any straggling assassins. Since peace was such a tenuous concept, it was important for people like Alisha, who kept the King's counsel, to stay alive and pave the way for a lasting peace.

Edna, the resident seraph of the mountain range of Hyland, expressed her to continue to travel the world, and grudgingly accepted the task of princess protector. Edna would rather die a thousand horrible deaths than admit she had practically volunteered as the princess' protector because the seraph had been worried about the seemingly too-brave face Alisha clung to, all the while grieving the loss of Sorey.

To her, humans were so fragile and stupid. But, as a seraph who knew grief, Edna could appreciate the loss of losing that one important person. Her brother Aizen was never far from her thoughts even now. It also didn't hurt that Alisha was so easy to tease.

"Most of the bodies appear after dark," concluded the Mayor. His voice brought Alisha back to the grim present. "Very well. We will reconvene at sunset," nodded the General. He silently ushered Alisha out of the empty cold storage that had become Lastonbell's temporary morgue. The first breath of outside air in her lungs was most welcome, and the nausea faded.

"You have nerves of steel, Your Highness," Sergei complimented. They walked slowly, side by side back towards the inn.

"Hardly," she sighed with a resigned smile. "You do not realize how hard I was trying in there."

"Is that why you look so tired?" he asked gently. Now that they were traveling, he could not help but notice the shadows under her eyes. She had not been sleeping well. He made sure they stayed at the best rooms in the inn and traveled at an even pace to not tax her strength. Alisha was no shrinking violet, he knew that. Still, Sergei only wished there was something more he could do to help her.

Alisha looked up at him and studied the expression in his deeply green eyes. He was not mocking her, but was simply stating a fact. There was genuine consideration there. _Do we know each other well enough for him to be so concerned?_ she wondered to herself.

 _'You really are daft, you know that, don't you?'_ Edna muttered.

Before she could ask Edna to stop invading her private thoughts, Sergei continued, "There is a fresh water spring right outside Lastonbell. I think a sip would greatly replenish us, especially after that lecture." He visibly winced as he fought to banish it from his mind. Alisha let out a small giggle at his struggle. She cleared her throat to suppress it, since she was certain royal ambassadors did not let out girlish giggles at the demise of honorable men. General Strelker was certainly admirable and she hoped she did not offend his sensibilities as she looked up apologetically. Instead of censure she saw a gentle smile in return.

"I was wondering," he said shyly, "when you were going to let your façade drop. It must be exhausting to keep it up." He at least had his loyal officers to confide in, and the headquarters of the dragon knights was always somewhere he could simply be himself. He wondered if there was anyone she could confide in back in her capital, and if she ever had the space to simply be herself.

"It's not that bad, is it?" she asked. Alisha was a little surprised how his disarming smile had suddenly made her lapse momentarily into informal speech. "There are just so many expectations to my task here. I don't wish to fall short of any of them." "I don't think you could disappoint anyone as long as you remain true to yourself."

She looked at the gentle and reassuring hand on her shoulder. Following her gaze Sergei flushed with embarrassment and let it fall back to his side.

"Forgive me. I had not meant to be so forward." He cursed himself quietly wondering why he always unconsciously felt the need to touch her.

He had never showed favor to any woman and had no inclination to settle down, partially because his duties had forbade any distractions while Forton was still in power. His younger brother had been the charmer, the one who left a string of pining women in his wake. Sergei never had such talent.

Yet this strong and fragile princess contradicted his prior inclination to dedicate himself wholly to his country and nothing else. It shocked him in that moment to realize that now, there was something else.

The sound of armored feet against the cobble stones rushing towards them interrupted their private moment. Several members of her guard and Rolance's squadron hurried to report another body had been found. Without another word, Alisha and Sergei ran to join the others who had gathered at the town's gate, ready to head out. The group rushed out with a villager as their guide to the surrounding grassy hills.

Sure enough there was a body, clearly mummified, lying in a ditch by the side of the road. "Unforgivable," said Alisha under her breath. Suddenly every hair on her skin stood at attention as she felt the familiar sensation of malevolence surrounding the body. It was fresh yet fading. _'This aura seems familiar,'_ commented Edna in hushed tones Alisha noted her companion's seriousness and thought back to their past battles with major hellion.

"Where have I felt this before…?" Alisha commented aloud.

"Pardon?" asked Sergei.

"This presence. It's sharper than a regular taint," Alisha explained. She was moving before she knew it, following the trail of fading malevolence due west, into a small wooded area. Her knights and Sergei's entourage followed her wordlessly, aware that the princess saw and felt things differently than normal people.

"Be on your guard," warned the princess simultaneously as Edna gave her that same caution in her mind. They all drew their weapons as they approached the trees. "Never a dull moment with you," said Edna in a bored voice as she appeared out of thin air. The seraph had been conserving her energy by resting within Rose's Squire, but now it was time for action.

Supporting a seraph had been hard on Alisha at first, since her body was not used to hosting. But as they continued to travel and fight together, Alisha became more attuned to Edna's presence and magic. With the backing of Sorey's power, Alisha found it easier as the days passed and no longer felt the heaviness over her body.

She had initially commented that Edna's presence was like boulders weighing down on her despite the seraph's diminutive size. That in turn caused Edna to ignore her for days while actively trying to crush the princess by increasing the invisible burden of her power. Alisha had found out the hard way that her companion was surprisingly sensitive about her size and weight.

By now, even Sergei felt the malevolence, thicker here than anywhere else, and automatically stepped in front of the princess. Following his lead, the men and women of the guard formed a protective semi-circle around them, facing outward in all directions.

"While I'm sure you appreciate the chivalry," commented Edna to Alisha, the only one who could see and hear her, "and chivalry is never dead with this one hanging around, he'll be useless when the enemy attacks. The tin man will only be a distraction. Tell him to move aside."

 _'He'll be offended,'_ protested Alisha silently.

"Better offended than dead," her companion shrugged emotionlessly.

"General, I am capable of handling any attacks on my person. Please care take care of yourself and the knights," Alisha said diplomatically placing a hand on his shoulder. He nodded without taking offense and backed up behind her.

Something in the shadows called her attention away. The sharp feeling of malevolence was present once again. Alisha recognized it as the same aura she had felt in the ruins under Camlann. This was the malevolence that had unleashed the powerful twin hellions trying to disturb Sorey's sleep. Anger bubbled to the surface of her mind.

"Psycho Fox is still alive," said Edna menacingly. Alisha knew she referred to Lunarre, someone who had once tried to assassinate her, though she had never personally fought him.

"Then he was behind the hellions in Camlann. I'm getting the same feeling now as I did then," Alisha said between gritted teeth.

"Seem's that way."

Sergei, having known Sorey, recognized that Alisha was speaking to a seraph. He had no time to ask her about it before the sound of tree trunks and branches snapping and cracking around them filled the air. Sizable pieces of wood were being hurled at them and they all scattered to take cover or dodge the attacks.

"Senseless deforestation," commented Edna apathetically as she called forth her barrier to shield them. Alisha leaped into action, spear at the ready as she honed in on the source of the malevolence. A glint of golden hair scurried away from her line of vision though she could still feel his sharp glare trained on her.

Alisha closed her eyes to keep from being distracted by the noise of the barrage and struggle around her. Tapping into Sorey's ever present power she found her opponent, raced towards her left, jumped up towards a low branch and sliced at the shadow she saw in her mind. A high pitched wail told her she had hit her mark and Lunarre's cloaking spell disappeared.

"Got you," Alisha heard Edna behind her and several boulders whizzed past both sides of her head and struck him soundly. "I'm here to permanently wipe that awful grin off your face, Foxy Loxy," Edna declared with a smile.


	4. Walking Forward

Chapter 4: Walking Forward

Lunarre spat out some choice words for Edna but he defended himself just in time as the princess' spear swung at him mercilessly, trying to decapitate him.

"You're being over emotional," warned Edna as her spell shook and fractured the ground beneath the enemy and caused him to stagger. The assault on the knights suddenly stopped as Lunarre was distracted. Since they could see him now, the knight vanguard surrounded the enemy, weapons pointed, daring him to be their pin cushion. In a burst of power, Lunarre pushed them back with an explosion.

"I am not being over emotional!" argued Alisha taking that moment to swing her _light rondo_ to slice him in half. He again blocked just in time. "Damn you," the princess cursed as she gracefully transitioned into a frontal mid-air spiral with a _thunderclap_.

She could feel the energy gathering before her just as the searing lightning scorched the air in front of her face and into her enemy. Alisha took no pleasure in attacking someone who was once human but she was determined to end him, if only for Sorey's sake.

Lunarre swiped at her with his claws, managing to cut into her cheek. Sergei's broadsword came between them just in time to parry the attack, preventing any deeper damage. She ignored the the sting and iron scent of her blood and leaped back.

"You don't fight well when you're emo," concluded Edna flatly. "He's become more powerful since sucking up the life of humans. I told you to watch yourself."

"I will never let him near Sorey again, not while I live and breathe," Alisha swore with restrained anger. When Sorey would wake, sometime in the distant future, maybe in another age, there would be one less thing for him to be worried about.

"Let's do this then," replied Edna, in wholehearted agreement.

In a string of relentless attacks, one after another, Edna and Alisha unleashed artes in an unyielding chain, feeding off of one another's energy and momentum in perfect synchronization until Lunarre staggered and could no longer defend himself. "I will protect Sorey just as he protected me!" Alisha shouted as she unleashed her finishing move in a blur of blue fire, with devastating force, her azure apocalypse momentarily blinding those around her. She had not realized she was crying until her sight was suddenly blurred by flowing droplets dripping to the ground amid the hazy blue aftermath of her power.

A spray of blood came forth from Lunarre's mouth as he fell limply to the ground, face up. "Heh…hehe…." he choked out in mirth, the wind completely knocked out of him and his flesh seared. "I will not be slain by you here, little Princess. I have more left in me. I will survive." A bloody cough gurgled in his chest as he hacked and wheezed air from his lungs. "I will lay the bodies of everyone he loves before him, starting with you. Then I will wake him and watch him writhe in despair. I will kill him slowly just as my malevolence incapacitates him, and I will finally have my sweet revenge."

Sergei and the knights surrounded his body ready to skewer him at the princess' command. Alisha knew that Sorey barely knew Lunarre, and had done nothing to earn this ire. Whatever demons possessed Lunarre was far older and more malevolent than a simple grudge. It was pure malevolence against some distant past, perhaps even with another Shepherd long gone.

"You will do no such thing," said Alisha in a trembling voice, as she stepped closer, ignoring the taste of her own blood and tears, "because your madness ends here. You are nothing but a passing shadow, forgotten in the light of the sun."

She came close enough so he could hear death in her whisper, "You will never harm him again."

Wordlessly, she raised the tip of her lance and drove it into him, piercing through both armor and the ground under his heart. He wailed in pain as his flesh started to dissolve in the dark, soulless fire of a vanquished hellion who could not be purified. Alisha's lance pinned him down so he could not escape it, and this time, Symonne would not help him fake his death.

Lunarre glared at her as he felt himself die, cursing her with a look before he burned to nothing but a dark scorch mark under her spear tip.

"I'm sorry for staining the earth like that," Alisha apologized after a moment of silence. She doubted anything could grow there, and even the rain might not wash it away. Perhaps she would ask Rose and Lailah to purify it later. Her seraph companion merely shrugged as she opened her umbrella, propped it on one shoulder and started to twirl it thoughtfully.

"I'm just surprised you didn't become a hellion of vengeance. Your little emo princess ego was starting to show." Edna disappeared and settled back into her temporary human vessel.

Alisha let out a mirthless laugh as she pulled her lance out of the ground. _'How could I lose control when I have a partner who's so_ grounded _in common sense?'_

 _'Ugh,'_ Edna groaned. _'You're becoming just as bad as Lailah.'_

"It is finished," Sergei said with finality as he stepped up beside her, still staring at the darkened earth. "What a formidable foe. We are grateful you could assist us, Your Highness."

He looked at her profile to discreetly study the tear stains on her face. He had always been weak to crying females, but the sight of her tears clutched at his insides like a vice. He did not imagine hearing her final whispered words as she killed the enemy. Her truth pained him. She would never be able to see Sorey again and she had to live on. The princess' eyes betrayed a sadness mixed with relief, encompassed by a solemn promise to protect the things she cared about, and the one she loved.

Sergei forced himself to look away in respect for her privacy, understanding Alisha's need to grieve. It explained those faint shadows under her eyes now. But her quiet strength drew him in, like flame into a dry hearth, and he knew he was lost. His brother had always teased that Sergei was a typical knight, who would only fall for a woman who was no less than a princess, to whom he could devote his life. He sorely missed his brother in that moment, wishing he could explain Sergei's feelings to himself.

Alisha lifted her chin and wore her tear stained expression honorably. To spare her from the curious glances of the knights, Sergei ordered them to move forward, to Lastonbell, while he and Alisha brought up the rear.

"That was well done, Princess. I would never have seen him in the shadows," he said, trying to fill the silence with anything.

"My senses have become keener since becoming a Squire. It also helps that Sorey's power fills the air, and I am able to tap into it. He still protects me even while he slumbers," she smiled wistfully.

"I cannot even begin to compete with that," sighed Sergei quietly. "Pardon?" asked Alisha, wondering why he was muttering to himself. "Nothing," said Sergei. "Let us return to Lastonbell for a well-earned rest. There is much to report to both our kingdoms on the morrow."

"Yes."

Sergei stopped in mid walk. "Might I…" he began without finishing. She looked at him curiously as his struggle was clearly displayed on his face. "Might I take a moment of your time later this evening?" he asked, trying not to blush.

"For what end?"

"I…there is something I'd like to show you. I thought perhaps you would enjoy it, and it will help divert you…from other thoughts."

"Is that so?" Alisha pondered. She self-consciously wiped the drying tear stains from her face.

 _'He's trying to be gallant,'_ Edna said with her usual flat affect, _'and failing miserably.'_

"I would be honored if you indulged my request," Sergei said stiffly, wincing a little at the formality of the words that spilled from his mouth. _'You two are like peas in a pod.'_

Alisha could hear the smirk in her companion's voice. "Shush!" commanded Alisha, realizing too late that she had said it out loud.

"I'm sorry?" asked the general, a bit deflated.

"No! Not you, General Strelker," she tried to explain away her mortification. "I-I was talking to, well, you know...my companion. Forgive me, General."

"Sergei," he added without hesitation.

"Yes?" she asked, confused at his sudden use of his given name.

"Please, call me Sergei," he said, just now flushing at the realization of his forwardness. "We have been acquainted for a while now. I would be happy if you could treat me with the frankness you would show your seraph companion by your side."

"Oh."

"Shall I escort you to dinner?"

 _'He would be shocked with your frankness if only knew what a watering pot you really are. Heaven forbid he turns out to be the type who carries white handkerchiefs in an endless supply.'_

"Oh, yes. I usually dine around seven."

 _'If he finds out you sometimes eat with your hands when you're hungry and you think no one is watching he might be polite enough to look the other way.'_

"That's perfect. It leaves us enough time."

"Enough time for what?" Alisha asked, trying to ignore Edna's voice in her head.

 _'And when you start using puns without even trying he might actually have the audacity to laugh.'_

"It's a secret," Sergei said with a gentle chuckle and a wink. Alisha gawked at his easy manner, wondering if any man had ever winked at her before.

 _'He might just run the other way when he finds out you're not quite the proper princess idol everyone else thinks you to be.'_ After a pause, she added, _'But then again he might not. He might actually find it endearing. In fact I bet he's cliché enough to fall for damsels in distress. Pretty soon he'll be all googly-eyed as he spouts poetry for you, trying to save you from yourself-'_

' _Enough, Edna!'_ Alisha admonished. But in her head she could still sense the seraph smiling mischievously.

Alisha simply laughed in spite of herself. Edna and Sergei were trying so hard to distract her and to cheer her up, she realized. They wanted her to walk forward, and they would walk together with her. She looked up at Sergei and gave him her most genuine smile. "Thank you," she said. Alisha meant it for the both of them.


	5. Dreaming Awake

Chapter 5: Dreaming Awake

Alisha left the inn with Sergei at the appointed time after sharing a quiet meal with him and their senior officers. The pair walked quietly, each having decided to shed the armor that was no longer needed for the time being.

For Alisha's part, Edna had scanned the city and the nearby countryside for any possible threats before ordering Alisha to enjoy herself. Her companion decided to stay in the room and retire early. Sergei's excuse was that his armor would be more an impediment for where he wanted to go.

"So, your seraph friend...?" he asked, wondering if he was not actually alone with her. "Edna decided to stay behind," Alisha assured him.

"I wish I could see them," he sighed wistfully.

"It can be arranged, but you would have to hold your breath and hold on to the Sheperd to tap into that spiritual tether," Alisha explained, smiling inadvertently at the memory of the first time Sorey had introduced her to Mikleo.

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "I understand that Ms. Rose is now the Shepherd," he said, trying to keep up the conversation. "How is she bearing up?"

"Stubborn as usual, terrible at expressing her true feelings, burdened by the responsibility, but proud to do it," said Alicia thoughtfully. "That pretty much sums her up. Rose is still Rose."

She turned to him with a wry smile when she added, "Edna told me the funniest story of when you first met Rose and Sorey. You do know they weren't married?" Sergei snorted in a rather undignified way.

"Of course I did. Well, eventually, anyway…" he confessed. "I've never seen two people so uncomfortable with the idea of being married. Then it became truly amusing to play along and see how long they could keep up the charade."

"That was rather unkind of you. Sorey and Rose felt awful for deceiving you," Alisha admonished.

"Serves them right then," Sergei said with a boyish grin.

Overhead the stars were shining boldly in the night sky, watching the world as they had done for ages past, and would continue for ages to come. Noticing her upward gaze he commented, "The stars are always so beautiful this time of night. They watch over everything like silent sentinels."

"Yes," agreed Alisha quietly. "They are constant and unchanging, unlike people." "Isn't it better that people can change?" said Sergei thoughtfully. "People at least have that choice."

Alisha pondered his words as he led her to the tower bells. "This way," he smiled and she could see the glint of his white teeth in the street light as he offered to assist her through a narrow passage. Alisha took his ungloved hand, unable to ignore the tingly sensation on her skin. Had she ever touched a man's hand like that? She could not help but notice how his warmth spread quickly through her cold fingers as he led her up a spiraling staircase to the bells.

Priests had positioned themselves in the belfry and began to pull the long ropes connected to each bell in a synchronized routine. A soft, gentle melody filled the air, tinkling and chiming lightly at first, then swelling to full and resonant sounds, flowing through the quiet streets and floating up to the sky. Alisha closed her eyes as she sat beside Sergei on a ledge. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

"It's the last chime of the evening, _compline_ , as the priests call it. They have a different tune for each part of the day. I discovered this spot when I was first assigned as a patrol guard here, long ago. It is really is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard."

"The tune reminds me of a Hyland lullaby my nanny used to sing to me." Alisha drew a deep breath to sing softly of the setting sun, the moon watching over all souls, and the dark night delivering the day. Her voice was clear and high, like a silver bell. Her style was gentle, lilting, with sweetly touched consonants, and slightly vibrato long notes. Her singing voice sounded younger than her twenty years, but Sergei thought it fit her perfectly.

"I stand corrected," Sergei stared with shining eyes when she finished. " _That_ was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard my entire life." Alisha blushed furiously, hoping he would not be able to see it in the dim light and looked away.

"I don't sing very often."

"A travesty," he responded. She turned to see that he was being honest. Alisha had never known him to be anything but. There was something comforting about his presence, something she knew she could get used to.

"Tell me if I am being too forward," he said before taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "I am undone by you who are so beautiful, so fragile and so strong, my lady. Yet I know you grieve for the loss of someone dear to you and I would not wish to impose."

His words surprised her and he could see that in her expression. Her hand was still held in his. She turned again to face northeast, though it was impossible to see the pillar of light from this distance.

"He is not lost," said Alisha quietly. "So I should not grieve. And though he is dear to me, it was simply not my fate to continue walking with him." She let out a slow, steady breath. "All I can do is continue to support peace, and quell hellions to purify the land as much as I can, so that one day, some day far off from now, Maotelus will be strong enough to sustain himself, and Sorey can be free to follow his dream."

"Then why is your expression so bereft when you think no one is watching?" he asked gently, still holding her hand.

"Because," she said trying to control the quiver in her lower lip. "He slumbers dreamlessly out of time while we continue; and when he wakes he may not even remember us, who will be long since gone by then. He may not remember the girl from Ladylake…who asked him to come down from the mountain….Our paths," she choked out, unable to stop the sob in her throat, "can never cross again."

She looked away. "Forgive me."

"Will you consider an alternative?" Sergei asked earnestly. He caught her gaze once again. "I am offering to be a comfort to you, so please, feel free to speak openly with me." Offering his strength to her, he pulled her fragile frame closer so she could cry on his surcoat. It was sufficient invitation for the flood gates to burst open.

She wept as she clutched his linen sleeve and buried her face into his shoulder. "My first friend. I miss him," Alisha managed to say in between trembling breaths.

He waited patiently for her to finish. By then, all the priests had returned to the sanctuary for the night. "Are we not enough for you?" Sergei asked quietly when all was silent again.

"What?" she asked as she pulled back to look at him with her glistening eyes. He offered her a white linen handkerchief and a small smile came to Alisha's face as she gladly took it.

 _He would be the type to have an endless supply of white handkerchiefs,_ Edna's words branded her thoughts.

"The ones who are here for you now, the ones who support you, all of your new friends; can we be enough? The man embracing you now, offering you his shoulder to cry on, desiring to be closer still, wishing someday that you will be happy, and hoping he could be the cause. Can he be enough?" Sergei looked down at her surprised expression and kissed her chastely on the forehead.

"Do you think he could ever be enough for you, this man who cannot see seraphs, who loves books and swords equally, and cannot carry a tune worth his life? Would you at least consider him?"

Alisha's pale green eyes were wide now, wondering if she had heard his proposal correctly. "Consider him for what?" she asked softly.

"Consider him as the man who will walk by your side for as long as his life will allow; a man who remains awake with you, who dreams the same dreams as you," he responded without hesitation.

Her shock rendered her speechless.

"You don't need to decide now, but I am volunteering to fill that position. Will you at least let me try?"

Alisha was lost in thought as she looked at her hand still clasped in his, examining that simple gesture anew.

As the ambassador of Hyland she would be spending more time in Pendrago. The Rolance government even set aside a beautiful house in the nobles district as the location for the new embassy. Sergei's Dragon Knights were quartered a mere stone's throw away. There would be ample opportunity to spend time with him and get to know him better.

She looked into his forest green eyes and envisioned a future of bouquets of fresh field flowers picked on his way back to town. There would be fancy parties in Pendrago and in Hyland and she would be required to attend, and he seemed the type who would always invite her to dance at least once to have the pleasure of holding her close in public, declaring his intentions to all.

Someone like Sergei would always make her blush by never failing to tell her she was beautiful just as she was, regardless of whether she believed him. In his deep emerald eyes she would always be the most beautiful of all.

He would never be cross with her, and his chivalrous nature would put her needs first. She could always open up to someone like him and he would give her every opportunity to vent.

As a gentleman he would not deny any request, even if she asked to spar with him, and he would let her win. He would escort her wherever she needed to be and walks under the stars would be frequent.

And when her relatives tried to snub her or treat her with disdain he would stand staunchly by her side, hand at the hilt of his sword, silently glaring at them until they retreated. She foresaw her cousin Albert, however, would adore him and welcome him to tell him stories of the knights of old, while playing chess by the fireside whenever Alisha came to advise the king.

Best of all, she foresaw that on days when they had nowhere they needed to be, either in Rolance or Hyland, they would spend quiet afternoons in the library reading, enjoying each other's silent company.

Their children, as there would be more than one, would grow up to be prominent leaders in both kingdoms, reinforcing the peace both their parents had fought so hard to establish. Their descendants would be knights, politicians, tradesmen, regular people, Shepherds and Squires.

Some day, when the world no longer remembered the names Alisha Diphda or Sergei Strelker, Sorey would awaken to a peaceful world, a land free of malevolence: Alisha and Sergei's legacy.

Then, fulfilling a promise she had made centuries earlier, Edna would deliver Alisha's letters to Sorey, each one detailing her life's journey, shared with a man who dreamed the same dreams as she, filled to the brim with light, love and laughter.

Her only request would be that Sorey would remember her from time to time as he stepped out into the word to finally follow his own dream.

This was her answer.

A single tear fell gently onto her hand and the sensation brought her back to the present from her waking dream. Alisha smiled as if a heavy weight had just been lifted and the pricking sensation in her chest faded. Sergei's thumb wiped the drop away and shyly smiled back. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes," she answered, leaning into him once more to be closer to the future promises his warm embrace offered.

 _Fin._

* * *

Author's note: Thank you for reading. There are enough stories of Mikleo out there so I was looking for balance. Alisha isn't everyone's favorite, and I'm not sure she's mine, but I wanted to tell a story of heartbreak and sadness after finishing Alisha's DLC. But instead of empty, unexplained and unfulfilled pledges to Sorey I wanted Alisha to work out her feelings, and not just by taking it out on Rose. There's nothing sadder in my opinion than the thought of Sorey waking to find all his human friends gone. Even now I still feel that weight in my chest. So I wanted to tell a story that shows how his human friends would connect with him even in the distant future. Since I prefer Alicia over Rose, I told this story from her perspective. Edna is my favorite seraph, of course. Couldn't leave her out. Hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,

-K (12/2/15)


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